Regional economic cooperation in South Asia would be more viable if the 7 nation SAARC region is divided into three sub-groups, according to their geographical proximity, suggests am bassador Abul Ahsan, a former diplomat and the first Sec ret ary General of SAARC.

The urgency for a more meaningful economic coopera tion in South Asia, he explains. has increased due to the end of the cold war and the subsequent formation of new trading blocks around the globe and the strengthening of the existing ones.

With the ongoing Intense discussions. In recent semi nars and other fora, on way to enhance regional cooperation under the SAARC umbrella. The Dally Star recently talked to ambassador Ahsan about the prevailing situation in the region and about the possibilities of expanding regional economic ties

During the hour-long Inter view, the former Bangladesh envoy to the United States, who returned only recently from Washington, provided a fresh new dimension on the possibilities for starting a sub regional cooperation drive tn the SAARC region: talked about the existing limitations of the SAARC charter, the prevailing preoccupations of relationship among the member states and about the compelling reasons for Initiating a more meaningful regional cooperation.

Regional economic coopera tion among the SAARC member states, he points out. would be more feasible and effective if the region is divided Into three sub-groups among the nations with closer border links and common ecdnomic Interests.

All of the three sub-regions would Include India because of the centrality of Its location with borders with all SAARC member states, while none of the other members have common borders with each

other.

Because of this factor no viable regional cooperation tn South Asia is possible without the active participation of India."

Thus, with India as a common link point, ambassador Ahsan points out. the SAARC region can be divided Into Ih'e northeast region with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, the southern region with Sri Lanka and the Maldives and the northwest region with India and Pakistan.

The northeastern region of SAARC. he adds, has the maximum potential for any such regional economic cooperation because of the commonality of the problems and Interests of these countries.

Along with the northeastern states of India, he noted, this area is the most densely populated and backward region In SAARC while they also share common problems like floods and Nepal. Bhutan and the Indian states are largely Isolated.

"India's problem Is that the resources of its northeastern sister states cannot be exploited without the cooperation of Bangladesh" while Nepal and Bhutan can also use the transit facilities through the country. The region, as a whole, can also benefit by initiating a common approach In tackling the perennial flood problem caused by the common rivers, harnessing the water resources and generating hydro-electricity. "This region is where there can be dramatic cooperation In which all countries would benefit and the results could be far-reaching." The existing SAARC charter, he notes, also provides for such cooperations not' encompassing all the member states but only among some members through the formation of action committees.

However, he points out that the SAARC charter does have some peculiarities compared to other similar regional

groupings elsewhere.

And he is the person who should know about the peculiarities as he was the Chair man of the Drafting Committee at the first SAARC summit tn 1985 as the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. He later became its first Secretary General in 1987.

The SAARC charter stipulates that all decisions have to be unanimous; funding has to be through voluntary contribution. bilateral issues cannot be raised. •

The only concrete proposition of the charter, he observes. "Is that it will work towards improving the economic and social conditions of the people in the region and create better understanding among the member states. But it does not envisage any quail- ■ tatfve transformation in the nature and scope of cooperation or change of relationship among the member states.'"

Some other peculiarities of

the SAARC charter, he says, are that all SAARC programmes and projects are decentralised and proposed by Individual members, there is no central administration and funding and the core areas of economic cooperation, like finance. investment and industry. have been left out.

And although a tentative accord on the South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) was reached during the last SAARC summit, it is not geared up yet.

in contrast, he notes, when the European Commission was launched in 1957 through the Treaty of Rome, political and economic Integration was visualised with the ultimate goal of forming a more closer type of association among the member states.

The cautious beginning of SAARC was perhaps because the leaders of the member states were conscious about

the difficulty they would encounter in overcoming the legacy of misunderstanding, suspicion and conflict that marked the history of the re glon he explained

The SAARC leaders perhaps wanted to make a beginning in the hope that success In regional cooperation through SAARC would gradually widen and deepen the scope of cooperation among the member states."

He went on to acknowledge that after nearly 10 years since the first summit in 1985. SAARC has managed to achieve the initial objectives of bringing the people closer and to Increase the level of consciousness about each other. "In that sense SAARC -has been able to achieve a great break through in promoting the Idea of regional cooperation, which is a very positive aspect and which can create the foundations on which regional cooperation can be founded."

Identifying the major preoccupations of the SAARC member states as security and territorial integrity, ambassador Ahsan also notes that they also need economic and technical aid. trade and investment and transfer of technology.

"But the way things stand now almost none of the South Asian nations feel that their next-door neighbour can help them in any significant, way in meeting any of the above needs.'

Thus, over a period of time some major SAARC members, he notes, took'steps to substitute their dependency and links with their neighbours by developing economic and political links with nations outside the region. This was partly necessary because of the changing political and economic environment in the post Second World War period and as a consequence of the cold war. he says. "But equally most member nations did It as a matter of conscious policy

because they wanted to reduce their dependence on the neighbours."

"Not every country in the region is equally convinced that cooperation In South Asia is then priority, that It is necessary or even desirable." As a result all the existing communication and trading links among the South Asian nations have dwindled over a period of time and the nature of the relationship among the nations saw a drastic change, he noteS

But are these historical factors inhibiting the change towards greater cooperation. Not of course, if there is enough political will to change, replied the former diplomat.

But the importance of resuming. or starting a new regional cooperation in South Asia has gained momentum in recent years as a large number of countries around the world have formed regional trading blocks or are showing Interest In joining one. Ambassador Ahsan points out.

A number of other recent positive developments would also perhaps encourage the South Asian countries to take up the issue of regional economic cooperation more seriously. he says.

The end of the cold war would bring about changes in the security aspect of the re-fcdemocratisaUon in Bang-

h. Nepal and Pakistan J and the economic*" liberalisation throughout the region would also open up a new era in regional economic cooperation.

But the most Important reason favouring regional cooperation. he adds, is that the people and the leadership are realising that people around the world are moving ahead and South Asia, with the highest number of people below the poverty Une. may be left behind.

Thus, ambassador Ahsan • points out. South Asia Is being forced to think in terms of regional cooperaUon.